Platinum Originality International University Students Graphic Design Competition, hosted by China Academy of Art, is geared towards students of design major in universities and colleges worldwide. The Competition is aimed at promoting design education and design communication, providing teachers and students with a platform for exchange and improvement. 18 years have passed since its inauguration in 2000. During the course, Platinum Originality has always committed to raising the bar of design students and promoting innovative ideas of design education. The Competition has become a significant professional event highly esteemed by design education community and recognized as one of the best organized and most prestigious competitions for university design students. It has gained strong support from teachers and attracted active participation by students. Young designers-to-be have thrown themselves into the Competition with tremendous enthusiasm and fearless spirit, giving full play to their passion and talent, demonstrating their expertise and pursuit, as well as exploring youthful approach to contemporary design.

A vast number of entries were received for all previous competitions and winners were selected through rigorous and standard procedures. Many world-renowned graphic designers, experts and professors have acted as judges. The prestigious jury of this year’s competition is also composed of internationally celebrated designers and scholars, who will judge the entries according to international practice.

Hosted by:
China Academy of Art (CAA)

Organized by:
School of Design Art, CAA
School of Visual Communication Design, CAA

Supporting overseas school:
(in alphabetical order of initials)
ACADEMY OF ARTS ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN IN PRAGUE
ACADEMY OF FINE ARTS OF FLORENCE
DRESDRN ACADEMY OF FINE ARTS
HAMBURG UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES
POLITECNICO DI MILANO
THE ROYAL DANISH ACADEMY OF FINE ARTS
SHEFFIELD HALLAM UNIVERSITY
UNIVERSITY OF THE ARTS LONDON

A. Theme entriesA1.The Smell of the Air
The air, life-sustaining gas that we breathe in and out every day, is one of the essential elements on which human beings rely for survival. The air is ubiquitously present in our lives, with its smell penetrating into every corner. Everyone has different sensory experience of atmospheric smell. Fresh and fine air can bring us joy with every breath.
In 2017 AUPU launched Air Housekeeper Program which supplies healthy air customized to fit each house with five parameters, namely temperature, freshness, pureness, humidity and ambience, initiating a new era of joyful deep breathing.
When it comes to the smell of the air, everyone has different understanding and form of expression, for instance, the pure and refreshing smell of forest air can be expressed with colors or patterns; the entirely new aroma of the mountain top can be expressed with illustrations or fonts; the smoky air of day-to-day urban life can be expressed with animation or advertisement. There must be a smell which is either impressive, memorable or looked forward to, and you are invited to represent it in a unique way so we can understand visually the particular smell close to your heart.
In 2017 AUPU partners with Platinum Originality Creative Design Competition to invite entries for the theme of The Smell of the Air. There are no restrictions on the form, technique or style, including illustration design, mini graphic design, font design, advertisement design, dynamic design and poster design, etc.

A2.The Wisdom of Chinese Characters
Chinese characters are one of the most ancient characters in the world and so far they have been used consecutively for the longest time in human history. They are the only sophisticated logogram still used widely in the world.
Chinese characters have been evolving along with the development of human civilization. From Cang Jie who invented these characters to oracle inscriptions in Shang and Zhou Dynasties and the Six Categories of Chinese Characters proposed by Words and Expressions, a book written in East Han Dynasty, it is proven that Chinese characters have been evolving and built up during use and they are the crystallization of extraordinary wisdom of generations of ancestors. As symbolic expression of Chinese stories and Oriental culture, they are beaming with the beauty of Oriental design. The wisdom of Chinese characters has been influencing and changing our lives. Everyone can be character inventor with endless creativity. The wisdom of Chinese characters is ubiquitous and omnipotent because it’s part of our lives stemming from the long history and developing along with the civilization. Nowadays as times change and develop, how do Chinese characters transform in the new context? So the 2017 Platinum Originality Creative Design Competition launched this new category to discover the design power and review the meaning of Chinese characters.
There are no restrictions on the form, technique or style, including illustration design, mini graphic design, font design, advertisement design, dynamic design and poster design, etc.

1. 10Excellent Tutor Awards with Excellent Tutor Award Certificate and Collection of Selected Entries2. 5 Best Organizing School Awards with Best Organizing School Award Certificate and Collection of Selected EntriesNote: All the amount of abovementioned prizes refers to pre-tax amount. Participants shall pay tax according to the laws and regulations of their countries, including but not limited to the People’s Republic of China, and regions.

Ⅲ. Submission of entries

1. How to submit entriesParticipants should first go to one of the Platinum Originality official uploading platforms, one in China and one overseas, to sign up for the Competition. They need to create an account, fill in their personal information, upload their works. The detailed procedure is as follows:

a. Go to the official website, create an account and enter sign-up and uploading system.b. According to the prompts, fill in relevant information and upload design works.c. If one needs to submit other works he or she should repeat the previous steps.Note: One participant can submit multiple works using one account. It is unnecessary to register more than once.

2. Entry requirementsA. Theme entriesThe electronic file of entries shall meet the following requirements: The design can take any form. Each entry needs one or more A4-sized high-definition color graphics, color renderings or photos with jpg format, 300dpi resolution and RGB color model. The size of each image should not exceed 2M.The length of dynamic demonstration video should be no longer than 3 minutes and the video size no larger than 30M. The unified format is mp4. The dynamic demonstration video in unified format should be emailed to the Organizing Committee. Please include “designer name+entry number” in the email for information check and selection.

B1. Illustration Design B2. Poster designB3. Logo / VI designB4. Type designB5. Information designB7. Packing designThe design can take any form but it should manifest the overall design of the book including its cover, inside pages and local design. If there is a real book, after the design file is uploaded, the original book should be mailed to the Organizing Committee. Please refer to the contact details at the end.

B6. Book designThe design can take any form but it should show the overall design, local design or combination effect.

B8. Multimedia / Interactive designThe design can take any form such as 2-dimentional, 3-dimentional, webpage, UI, app, advertisement / short film, electronic publication or interactive experiment design, etc. The length of dynamic demonstration video should be no longer than 3 minutes and the video size no larger than 30M. The unified format is mp4. For each entry more A4-sized high-definition images should be uploaded. After the design file is uploaded, the dynamic demonstration video in unified format should be emailed to the Organizing Committee. Please include “designer name+entry number” in the email for information check and selection.

Ⅳ. Detailed rules

1. There is no limit to the number of works submitted by an individual participant.
2. The number of designers of each entry cannot be more than 3.
3. Each participant only needs to register once. Extra accounts are invalid.
4. The Organizing Committee has the right to publish, publicize, collect and print all entries.
5. The entries will not be returned regardless of winning or not. Please keep a copy if necessary.

Special note:
Please read carefully all the competition rules and fill in personal information according to the requirements. The Organizing Committee will check all the files submitted. If the entry fails to meet any requirements or has any missing items, it will be excluded from selection procedure. The judges have the absolute right to select winners. The entries must be designed by the participants themselves. If there is any dispute due to similarity or copy right violation resulted from suspected plagiarism, the Organizing Committee will disqualify the participant and any prize awarded will be taken back. All legal responsibilities shall be borne by the participant.

All the selected entries will be officially published by publishing house. Every winner of Shortlist Award and above will get a free copy.
The Organizing Committee has the right to exhibit, publish, publicize, collect and show the entries on TV, internet, print media and radio. All the selected entries will be officially published by publishing house. Every winner of Shortlist Award and above will get a free copy. The selected entries will be publicized on our official website, official Weibo and Wechat platform, and the Collection will be sold in Platinum Originality official Taobao store.

Ⅶ. Eligibility of participants and tutors

The Competition is open to international full-time design major postgraduates, undergraduates, top-up students, college students, non-degree students, students of adult education institutions and Self-study Higher Education Examination Program, including graduates of 2016 and those who graduated less than 3 years ago.
Tutors refer to all the teachers who provide guidance and advice to the participants during their working process. They don’t have to directly teach the participants in their day-to-day teaching activities.
Note: Entries without tutoring can also participate in the Competition.

Ⅷ. Deadline

1. The submission deadline for theme entries and open theme entries is December 28th 2017.
2. Please make sure that the works is uploaded by December 28th 2017, otherwise the entry will be excluded from selection and all consequences shall be borne by the participant.

In case of any doubts or disputes regarding the rules, the Organizing Committee reserves the right for final explanation. Any unaccomplished matter related to the Competition will be subject to additional rules formulated and interpreted by the Organizing Committee.